A media disk, typically a DVD or CD although the case could be used with an optical disk or conceivably even with an LP vinyl record, is stored, transported, and sold in a case that on the one hand must protect the normally fragile disk, but that also must be openable so that a user has easy access to the disk. In addition it is often necessary that the case be secure so that the package is dramatically changed once the user has first opened it, to prevent the disks from being pilfered from the cases in the store.
There are basically three classes of such cases. In the oldest type the case is made like a book. It has a main part invariably made of injection-molded plastic that is formed with a seat having a hub to which the disk can be clipped by its center hole. One or more flaps of cardboard or plastic can close over this insert to protect the disk on the seat. In the traditional jewel box, there is a single flap held in place by extremely fragile ears that are typically broken off after moderate use, reducing the case to a two-part hard-to-handle assembly. Such cases must normally be enclosed in shrink wrap to provide some sort of tamper indication. Thus the cost of the packaging normally exceeds the cost to press and print the actual disk. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,230.
It is known to provide some form of tamper indication in a package where an integral web between parts is broken when the package is first opened. Such a system has the advantage that it is impossible to open the package and take out the disk without leaving evidence behind, but once again the cases are invariably of complex and expensive construction. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,385,231 and 6,079,557 as well as US 2002/0046959.
It is also known to mount the insert having the seat or seats that hold the disk or disks such that it can pivot between a closed position wholly contained in the case and an open position swung out so that the disk or disks can be picked off the insert. While such a case is preferred for an expensive DVD which is fairly delicate, it still is very expensive to manufacture, is often fairly fragile, and is rarely provided with any type of tamper proofing. See for example U.S. pat. Nos. 4,770,474, 5,525,451, 6,318,550, British 2,276,609, German 3,820,239 and 298 00 899, EP 1,045,395, and WO 98/04478.
All the known disk cases are of fairly complex construction. They are made up of several different parts, often of custom-made injection-molded construction, and their assembly is a multistep process involving the piecemeal assembly of the various parts.